EAST POINT, Ga. -- Homeowners near the Atlanta Medical Center on Cleveland Avenue in East Point say the noise from hospital cooling units echoes nonstop throughout the neighborhood.
Residents say they've contacted the hospital and gotten lots of promises, but nothing has been done to curb the continuing noise.
The loud grinding noise that never stops comes from the huge air conditioning units adjacent to the emergency room at Atlanta Medical Center-South.
Neighbors say enough is enough.
"It's day and night. It's a sound that once you hear it you can't unhear it. Just a constant annoying sound," said Chuck O'Briant, who lives across the street from the medical center. "The pitch is very annoying. Anytime we go outside or sit on the deck or garden or walk the dogs there is that sound bothering all of us."
O'Briant says he's been in touch with the hospital but nothing happens.
11Alive's Bill Liss contacted the Atlanta Medical Center and they provided us with a written statement which does not go along with what the neighbors are tell us.
"We have recently been made aware of a complaint from one of our neighbors..." the statement says.
But O'Briant doesn't agree.
He says "that's inaccurate because we have been bringing it to their attention since at least April."
The hospital statement added: "...we are exploring various designs by engineers to try and minimize the noise..."
But O'Briant says that "the head of maintenance said that there was a barrier that was supposed to be there to block the sound -- like an absorption barrier -- and that they were going to order one and that was in May, and they said it would be here in two weeks."
Atlanta Medical Center is sticking to its statement despite what neighbors say.
"I think they are just putting us off until we go away," O'Briant said.
But neighbors say they won't go away.
But as hospital engineers figure out how to curb the sound levels, the city of East Point is sending out staff to check the sound levels and make sure they are not in violation of city ordinances.
